Today's technology for transporting, storing and processing compressed gases and liquids is mainly realized by using containers (cylinders/vessels) or tubes or pipes made of metals and their alloys. In the following description, “tubes” and “pipes” on the one hand, and “cylinders”, “vessels” and “containers” on the other hand are used interchangeably.
Some gases, for example, nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), argon (Ar), hydrogen (H2), natural gas (CH4), etc., whose critical temperatures are below ambient, can “economically” be stored and transported in gaseous state only at high pressures (N2, O2, Ar, H2—in containers and natural gas, CH4, mostly—in pipelines as well as in containers). Some liquids are stored and transported in containers or pumped through pipelines under pressure.
Regardless of the high pressure inside the container (15-35 MPa), such storage and/or transportation requires heavy hardware. As a result the net weight percent of gas storage in a majority of cases does not exceed 5-10%. When storing low molecular weight gases, for example, hydrogen, the net weight percent of gas storage may be less than about 1%. A similar situation takes place in case of pipelines which also are much heavier than the confined gas. The present invention aims at significant decrease of the weight of containers and pipes (seamless or welded) used for storage and transportation of gases and liquids.